Well, after a long and exhausting search exploring the pros and cons of coatings and heat wrap on headers I have but one question.
...Has anyone here cracked their headers, or even know someone who's headers have cracked (or otherwise failed) from using heat wrap? So far I've only found one article on the tech forum site (which IMO could've been written by a JET-HOT rep) and a bunch of posts citing that article, but no first hand accounts.

I don't want to damage my headers but I don't want to spend $300+ having them coated if I don't have to.

 

My neighbor has a 500hp sand drag jeep with 200shot nos, he warped his headers up and they cracked. Not sure if it was the wraps or what but there you go.

 

Well I have first hand experience here.
I have wraped the stock header on my porsche 944 and the heat inside made the metal brittle and ended up cracking the header. After that I bought a very nice stainless steel header that i also wraped. Its been going strong for about 3 years now. I pluued off the wrap when I pulled the engine last year and everything was good.

So I think it good to use on stainless but bad to use on mild steel.

Having said that, I think getting them coated via a jet-hot type procedure is best.

Hope this helps, good luck!

 

I have heard before that wrap will hold in moisture and eventually cause the headers to rust. The best thing to do is have them coated.

 

I read that too, but in the same thread I also read posts stating that was just a common misconception. Either way, the headers in question are stainless Nismo headers so I'm pretty confident in their overall quality and not so concerned about rust. I definitely see some benefit to coating the headers (aesthetics); I just don't see the point in incurring the additional expense if I can't find proof that wrapping them is harmful.

 

Not enough search?

Read thru, i paid 200 for coated my headers, and other member said he paid much cheaper than what i paid ( My previous user name was xhooniex83, read #23)

There is number for jet-hot coating, and look for dave

Edit: almost 1000 milies with headers, no track but hard driving on street. No issue with headers

 

I wrapped my greddy cast iron manifolds and they cracked. Then again, this is my second set and the 1st set I had I didn't wrap and they cracked also.

 

Time to go try coating,

Did you ever replcae your heat wrap? i read before some vendor recommand to change heat wrap once a couple track days or so

 

Thanks, I found what you're talking about. That will be valuable info if I decide to go that route. I have to say though, one of the reasons for starting this thread is that I'm not convinced Jet-Hot will outperform wrap (or other coatings for that matter) when it comes to keeping the temp in my engine bay down. If I can't find proof that the wrap is harmful it seems like the more logical way to go.

I think the issue with the Greddy turbo manifold cracking both wrapped and unwrapped sounds more like a design flaw.

 

that's not possible on the greddy kit since the manifolds are not easily accessible. I've never heard that about heat wrap either. That would suck though because a roll is about 45 bucks

 

Humm i see, well i have no experience with greddy, so i can not comment about that. But i will try find what i read about heat wrap.

Edit: i've spend 10 minz but forgot where i find it. But i've read few members had worry about heat wrap due to crackin in long run tho.

 

i have used the heat wrap on even a cheap megan racing header before and had it last more than a year w/ no cracking. I would agree that coating them is best and will far outlast the wrap. wrap will not last a lifetime it will start to breakdown and get brittle after some time, but i wouldn't be worried about using it for the time being.

 

Can anyone recommend good heat wraps? perhaps some lnks?


Thank you!

 

Why spend so much $ on headers anyway

 

I fail to see how an internet search would have taken longer than posting.

 

They really are easy to find, try Summit. I will say this though; after a lot more searching and a couple emails I'm leaning more towards Swain-tech's White Lightning coating based on performance and longevity.

I got a REALLY good deal on them. Plus I'm probably going with a SC down the road and figured I'd reap the full benefit then

 

IMO, wrap will cause headers to crack. It does work, but insulates too much heat inside the metal.

The ceramic coatings we are using on some of our stuff are actually piston coatings which are applied to the inside & outside of the parts (where applicable). This insulates the tubes from the exhaust gas itself, vs. the wraps which trap the heat on the surface of the metal.

Hope that helps!

 

It does, but let me ask you... Do you think it's important that the entire inside of the headers be coated? I'm fairly convinced Swain tech's coating insulates better than the others but they only coat as far in as they can. If its important to shield the metal from the exhaust gasses wouldn't this cause problems as well? Hotspots?

If so, is there a product you would recommend over theirs? Can I ask what the piston coating you're using is?

 

Embee Performance. JE & CP send their stuff through Embee for their "factory" coatings.